


morale boost

by astroalternative



Series: in the gaol [2]
Category: Code Vein (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous Protagonist - Freeform, Gen, Introspection, POV Second Person, could be platonic or romantic, mid-game spoilers, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 11:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21053657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astroalternative/pseuds/astroalternative
Summary: You take it upon yourself to try and ask Jack Rutherford about your past.





	morale boost

Having Jack around home base wasn’t yet something you were used to. In fact, seeing him around still made you feel a little uneasy, as if you were seeing a ghost. It didn’t help that he was mostly a silent presence. Even Eva had integrated into your little community by now— you saw her speaking to everyone quite often, particularly getting on well with Io, it seemed. Jack, on the other hand, had only really spoken with Louis, and you had a feeling that was for professional purposes rather than pleasure. His lack of interest was unnerving, at least to you.

Though, if you were being honest, maybe the real reason it was bothering you so much was that he still hadn’t spoken to you.

As much as you could pretend you otherwise, you were itching to talk to him about Operation Queenslayer. While you may have regained some memories, there was still so much you didn’t know. What had happened to you before Karen woke you up back then? What was your role there? Why had you been chosen to team up with him?

More importantly, though, you wanted to know why things had turned out as they had. Was this all a case of happenstance— being in the right place at the right time, by chance having high enough compatibility in order to survive taking on the Queen’s blood? Or had it all been planned without your knowing?

He could know nothing. He could know everything. Being left in the dark was starting to drive you crazy.

So, after days of working up the courage, you finally approach him when he’s sitting alone on the couch.

He says nothing, hardly even glancing your way.

You fidget in front of him for a moment before clearing your throat. “Do you mind if I sit with you?”

“Go ahead,” he gestures to the spot next to him, and you hastily move to take it.

It occurs to you then that you’re not actually sure what you want to say to Jack. Or, well, you know what you want to say, you’re just not sure how to get there. After all “hey, do you know if I had been hand selected to kill the Queen because of my potential to be a Successor?” wasn’t exactly a great opener.

You settle on your next best line. “That scar is new.”

Jack chuckles a bit, “Yeah, I guess it would seem that way to you.”

So it wasn’t _really _new, then. Taking a closer look at it, it suddenly seemed obvious to you. It wasn’t red or inflamed like a recent scar might be, and it instead looked rather faded. From what you could tell, it didn’t even inhibit his eyesight. The only out of place thing about it was the shift in color on one side or the other, as if the skin on that side of his face had been replaced entirely, or even burned.

Well, he _had_ said he was the Successor of the Eye. You weren’t quite sure how inheriting relics was supposed to go, but if the scar wasn’t related to that, it was quite a dose of cruel irony.

“…I’m sorry for how things turned out then,” he says, tearing you away from your musing. “When the Queen died. I should have helped you.”

You turn to look at him, surprised to find that he was all of a sudden looking at you rather intently. You wave him off, giving him a small smile. “Don’t be sorry. What else could you have done, really?”

He doesn’t have anything to say to that. You were right, after all. It’s not as if there were many options at the time— consuming the Queen’s blood was a death sentence.

Or, at least, he thought it was. So did you, for that matter.

You’re not quite sure what it was that saved your life, exactly. Another perk of being a Successor? Or was it specifically because you took on Her blood over all else? Maybe it was even just that he had accidentally missed your heart when he killed you. You were fairly certain that was just as much of a mystery to him as it was to you, though.

“Maybe,” he turns away again. “Sorry I just… I’ve wanted to say that for a long time.”

You try not to read too much into that statement, but it does occur to you that this _might _be the reason he always seemed to stay so distant.

The two of you sit in silence for awhile, and you turn your gaze our towards the Red Mist to try and distract yourself.

It doesn’t distract you.

“Jack,” you say, quietly, tentatively, “do you know anything about me?”

If he’s surprised by your sudden question, he doesn’t show it. “A little. You’re a second generation revenant— back then, you were an up and coming recruit. Silva saw promise in you and assigned us to work together that day.”

“He assigned me…?” You supposed that made sense— how else would you and Jack have ended up together if not assigned? Still, something didn’t sit well with you, knowing that Silva had personally been responsible for the choice.

“You had dealt with the Queen before, and put up a pretty good fight. Had everyone all excited… Surviving a fight with Her your first time out wasn’t exactly _common_. Silva must have heard about it, I guess.” Jack shrugs, seemingly ambivalent.

“Is there anything else you know?”

He grimaces a little, obviously catching onto the fact that you were hoping for something more. “No, that’s it, really. Sorry, but that day was the first time we met.”

Jack may have proven to be particularly mysterious, but you couldn’t exactly call him a liar. You had to believe that when he said that’s all he knew, it was the truth, even if it was disappointing. Even if it left you with more questions than answers. 

You sigh. “Right… Of course. Thank you for telling me what you could, Jack.”

You stand back up, ready to bid him goodbye and run out to the hot springs to think about what you had learned. Instead, he quickly stands up with you, looking as if he wants to say something but hasn’t yet figured out how. You think better of questioning him, and instead stay silent.

The two of you stand there for a moment before he speaks up, “If you want to know more about yourself, I’m sure you’ve got more vestiges out there somewhere. I could help you find them, even.”

That makes you pause. Jack and you might not have been as close of friends as you thought you had been, but he was still a good man— he still _cared_. Maybe even a bit more than you had thought he did.

You don’t have time to come up with a response before he continues speaking, “And, well, if not… You've got a good life here. Makes it easy to keep moving forward.”

“You’re right,” you laugh, taking a step back towards him. You clasp his hand in yours before giving him a smile. “Thanks, Jack. I mean it.”

“R-right…” he trails off, looking more than a little flustered.

Letting go of his hand, you wander off, leaving Jack to his thoughts, and you to yours.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually had been working on something else that I wanted to post first, but I ended up really feeling this one... Anyways, I really wish we could have gotten some sort of scene like this w/ Jack in the game lol


End file.
